Wednesday 3 October 2012 01.30 EDT
First published on Wednesday 3 October 2012 01.30 EDT

Do you choose the advisers you work with based on their specialist knowledge of your sector? If you do, you may not be benefiting from other information that you may need in order to make the most of opportunities.

As the founder of one of a small but growing number of companies that work with charities, social enterprises and businesses to improve their income generation, we regularly come across perceptions that people have about different types of organisation. For example, people who think that profit-making companies are "bad", or that starting a charity and keeping it going is "easy". We meet people who think that money donated to a charity should only be spent on causes, with nothing left for core costs, and those who believe that private-sector sales people are manipulative, rich and uncaring.

The arrival of new structures like Community Interest Companies (CICs) and the emergence of a new generation of profit-making companies with a genuine commitment to social value has started to blur the boundaries between the for, not-for and not-just-for profits. We are forced to accept that, as ever, the reality is far more complicated than we'd like. But we risk missing a trick: in all the rhetoric about cross-sector working, partnerships and knowledge transfer we are still failing to learn from organisations with different approaches and structures to our own. Our experience suggests that this failing is at its most acute in the area of income generation.

The way in which organisations generate income, whether through fundraising, sales, tendering or donation needs closer examination because:

• In times of economic pressure we all need to innovate to survive, and it's important that muttering that "times are tough" doesn't distract us from concentrating and controlling our own future.

• We are too slow to use the latest evidence and research to inform how we approach income generation.

• Significant failings in both the for-profit and the not-for-profit sector have damaged customer and stakeholder trust; we all need to understand the whole picture to improve our lot.

Below are three of the many areas where we see more similarities than division between the private and third sectors.

Super-doers

Whatever type of organisation you run, the chances are that too few people within your team are responsible for generating your income. If this problem is acute, of course you need to focus on cultivating more of these engaged, energetic and vital individuals. But, that isn't an easy task, so while you are working on it, what can you do to increase the sense of accountability across the whole team?

Creating a sense that a few people are responsible for the dirty business of bringing in money increases the pressure on those who do it, and decreases the chances that the rest of the team will identify and respond appropriately to opportunities. After all, if your job is to deliver services, not to secure contracts, why would you stay behind after a big meeting to discuss what else is going on in a key partner organisation?

Unintended consequences

When things aren't headed in the right direction we often turn to planning, and from there to goal and incentive setting. From the mis-selling of PPI and the recent controversy surrounding street fundraisers we have compelling evidence on the risks, and unintended consequences of setting incentives. This view is supported by Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting, a paper by Ordóñez et al, in which they outline a number of risks associated with the over use of goals to control behaviours, including an increased risk of unethical behaviour.

Not valuing trust

Social media has increased the level of engagement that individuals expect with organisations, and the speed at which good and bad news travels. There isn't an easy route here. You need to engage and use the technology – the risk of people saying bad things about you in the Twittersphere doesn't disappear just because you aren't there – and by not engaging you may miss amazing opportunities.

The values which govern how you operate face-to-face need to apply in all arenas. Manipulation, bad mouthing, high pressure techniques and unguarded comments aren't acceptable anywhere, and will soon come back to bite you. See this example from Greenpeace of how quickly a trusted brand can undo years of reputation building.

There are so many areas where all organisations need to change and improve that this list could go on and on. Times are tough, but the response isn't for us all to stick with what we've always done. And if private and voluntary sector organisations both need to move on, why can't we move forward together?Isla Wilson is a director of Ruby Star Associates which specialises in sales, selling, training, marketing, business + social enterprise. On 20 November 2012 she will be leading a workshop on 'developing an enterprising culture: how everyone can support income generation' at the Our People Our Skills Our Future people development conference organised by Skills – Third Sector.